THE chief executive of Brighton and Hove Albion has revealed that more than 100 tickets have been identified as touted and cancelled.

Paul Barber said the club was getting tough on touts.

This comes two weeks after we reported that club bosses have banned nearly 20 supporters since the start of the season for ticket touting.

Mr Barber said: “We are acting very severely on touts.

“It is unfair to fans when nearly every game is sold out and they cannot get tickets.

“A total of 120 tickets have been sold on the ticket exchange.

“These are ticket holders who cannot get to the game, put their tickets up for sale and other Albion fans have been able to legitimately get those tickets.

“So the ticket exchange is up and running and working well and touts are being identified and those tickets cancelled.

“The downside is those poor fans who have bought from the touts are now finding those tickets have been cancelled, they’ve paid out money which they are not going to get back and we can’t offer them anything, because we haven’t got any left, which is a real shame.

“Hopefully it will be another lesson.

“Don’t buy from touts.”

The problem has got so bad recently that nearly 100 supporters were turned away at the turnstiles for the most recent match against Newcastle.

An Albion spokesman said that tickets for Albion matches should only be purchased directly from the club.

He added that for selected games, a small allocation may also be made available to purchase through Ticketmaster.

These will only ever be sold at face value.

The spokesman added: “If you pay more than face value or have bought from a tout or an online ticket agency, your ticket will be invalid, and you are likely to be refused entry to the stadium or ejected.”

The club had issued a warning before the start of Albion’s first season in the Premier League.

Club bosses had feared ticket touting may became a bigger problem with the demand for tickets at the Amex.

Speaking back in August, after tickets to Albion’s first two away games appeared on unauthorised websites and on social media, Mr Barber said it was concerning and frustrating.that tickets purporting to be for the visitors’ section at upcoming away fixtures were being offered for sale in this way.

He stressed at the time that many fans with the required loyalty points were missing out.